Render had testified that her sister had become violent during their argument after a night out at a bar, and that Render had called 911 for the police and simply pinned her sister to the floor on her stomach, never intending to strangle her, or thinking the hold might kill her.

After her conviction, she had found two medical examiners who thought Head more likely died of a heart attack, or suffocated from chest compression, but not manual strangulation as Assistant Milwaukee County Medical Examiner Wieslawa Tlomak testified at trial.

Last year, a trial judge vacated the conviction and ordered a new trial, but Render instead pleaded guilty in July to one of the two original counts — second-degree reckless homicide, while the strangulation count was dismissed.

Her new sentence was five years in prison, plus five years of extended supervision, with credit for the more than 4 1/2 years she's already served.

Renders' new attorney, Edgar Lin, said she felt vindicated that the new report corroborated her claim that she never strangled her sister, who happened to have several factors that put her more at risk for positional asphyxiation.